The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 14, 2023
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Oregon Capital Chronicle – Wyden, Blumenauer try again to export Oregon mail voting, automatic registration to rest of US
Sen. Ron Wyden – Vote at Home Act
Sen. Amy Klobuchar – Sustaining Our Democracy Act HR 7992 (2022 version) (2023 Sustaining Our Democracy Act SB 630, language not yet posted)
National Association of Counties: (2022 V) LEGISLATIVE ANALYSIS FOR COUNTIES: SUSTAINING OUR DEMOCRACY ACT
Associated Press – (2021) After voters embraced mail ballots, GOP states tighten rules
Groups Taking Action:
National Vote at Home Institute, League of Women Voters US, ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Common Cause
Today’s Script: (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time)
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
Two pieces of federal legislation introduced last week would expand mail-in voting around the country. One of those bills would also help recruit and train poll workers, and provide financial support for administering elections.
Last week, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer, both from universal vote-by-mail state Oregon, introduced the Vote at Home Act. Oregon has conducted every election by mail since 2000. The legislation automatically registers citizens to vote when they obtain or renew driver’s licenses, makes mail-in options available to all voters, and requires pre-paid envelopes to return ballots.
Voting by mail reached 50% during the pandemic-impacted 2020 election, up from 25% in 2018. In last fall’s midterms, despite a massive disinformation campaign to discredit it, mail-in voting was still 35% of the ballots cast, an indicator that voters liked the convenience of “kitchen table” voting.
Reintroduced by U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar last week was the Sustaining Our Democracy Act, which would increase access to mail-in voting AND early voting. It also provides funding for recruiting, training and protecting poll workers, modernizing election equipment, and improving cyber security. AND it increases funding to cities and counties to administer elections.
Disinformation in Congress persists, making passage of the bills uncertain.
We have more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.